A common desire in golf club manufacturing is to produce a club head having a striking face that imparts significant spin on a hit ball. Specifically, iron-type and utility-type golf club heads generally include a striking face having a plurality of grooves, or scorelines thereon. Such scorelines assist in imparting spin to a golf ball at least by channeling water and debris and improving traction between the striking face and the golf ball. However, the ability of scorelines to increase spin on a hit golf ball is limited in part by USGA regulation governing scoreline geometry. In addition, conventional scorelines fail to account for low-scale dynamic interaction characteristics between the striking face and the golf ball.
To further improve the ability of the striking face to impart spin, conventional club heads have included low-scale surface textures in addition to, or in place of, scorelines. However, such surface textures tend not to be tailored to the specific interaction between an elastomeric-coated golf ball and a metallic striking face. Further, conventional surface texturing is subject to rapid wear and costly to produce.
Also, common striking face surface textures are generally ineffective at enabling high spin for each of a variety of golf shot types that a golfer may attempt. For example, a golf ball hit by a golfer using a conventional club head with a specified swing speed would generally have a reduced ball spin if the golfer were to attempt a shot with the club face open, i.e. a “flop shot,” as compared with a typical golf shot with the club head squarely addressed.